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Quagga
The quagga (Equus quagga quagga) is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra that lived in South Africa. It became extinct in 1883 Description As a subspecies of the plains zebra, the quagga was almost identical to modern individuals. In fact, the quagga and other subspecies often interbred, to the point where it was almost impossible to tell them apart. Groves, C. P.; Bell, C. H. (2004). "New investigations on the taxonomy of the zebras genus Equus, subgenus Hippotigris". Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde 69 (3): 182. doi:10.1078/1616-5047-00133. However, most quaggas had a few significant differences from other zebras. For example, the quagga only had stripes its head and upper body, and its hindquarters were brown in color. It measured 2.5 meters in length and 1.3 meters at the shoulderNowak, R. M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World, Volume 1. John Hopkins University Press. pp. 1024–1025. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9. Only one quagga was ever photographed alive, a mare at the London Zoo. It died in 1872.Huber, W. (1994). "Dokumentation der fünf bekannten Lebendaufnahmen vom Quagga, Equus quagga quagga Gmelin, 1788 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Equidae)". Spixiana (in German) 17: 193–199. Classification The quagga was originally classified as a distinct species of zebra (Equus quagga) in 1778.Groves, C.; Grubb, P. (2011). Ungulate Taxonomy. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 16. ISBN 1-4214-0093-6. The taxonomic history of the quagga is clouded for multiple reasons. There is a great deal of variation between zebras, even in the same subspecies,St. Leger, J. (1932). "LXVII.—On Equus quagga of South-western and Eastern Africa". Journal of Natural History Series 10 10 (60): 587–593. doi:10.1080/00222933208673614.Van Bruggen, A.C. (1959). "Illustrated notes on some extinct South African ungulates". South African Journal of Science 55: 197–200. and scientists at the time erected new species of equine solely from details of the animals' hide. Additionally, at one point all zebras were referred to by the name "quagga". In 1984, the quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed. The genetic evidence proved that the quagga was a subspecies of the plains zebra.Higuchi, R.; Bowman, B.; Freiberger, M.; Ryder, O. A.; Wilson, A. C. (1984). "DNA sequences from the quagga, an extinct member of the horse family". Nature 312 (5991): 282–284. doi:10.1038/312282a0. PMID 6504142. Another genetic study in 2005 indicated that the quagga diverged from the plains zebra recently, no earlier than 290,000 years ago.Hofreiter, M.; Caccone, A.; Fleischer, R. C.; Glaberman, S.; Rohland, N.; Leonard, J. A. (2005). "A rapid loss of stripes: The evolutionary history of the extinct quagga". Biology Letters 1 (3): 291–295. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0323. PMC 1617154. PMID 17148190. History The quagga was hunted by natives and early Dutch settlers for their meat and skin. It had a limited distribution, and had to compete with domesticated animals for space. The last wild populations were exterminated by 1878.Weddell, B. J. (2002). Conserving Living Natural Resources: In the Context of a Changing World. Cambridge University Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-521-78812-9. Some quaggas were captured and shipped to European zoos for display. George Douglas, the 1th Earl of Morton, launched a captive breeding program of the species, but was only able to acquire a single male. He bred it with a horse, resulting in a hybrid female foal. He went on to breed this hybrid with another horse, and their offspring also had zebra stripes. This led to new ideas about the now-outdated theory of telegony.Birkhead, T. R. (2003). A Brand New Bird: How Two Amateur Scientists Created the First Genetically Engineered Animal. Basic Books. p. 145. ISBN 0-465-00665-5. The last known example of the quagga died in 1883 in Amsterdam.Rau, R. E. (1978). "Additions to the revised list of preserved material of the extinct Cape Colony quagga and notes on the relationship and distribution of southern plains zebras". Annals of the South African Museum 77: 27–45. ISSN 0303-2515. Quagga Project When the relationship between plains zebras and the quagga was determined, the Quagga Project was formed in 1987 by Reinhold Rau. He aimed to recreate the quagga using selective breeding of zebras with quagga-like traits.Heywood, Peter (2013). "The quagga and science: what does the future hold for this extinct zebra?". Perspectives in biology and medicine 56 (1): 53–64. doi:10.1353/pbm.2013.0008. PMID 23748526. This type of selection is called "breeding back". The animals that have resulted from this project do look much like their extinct counterparts, but whether they can be considered true quaggas or simply quagga-like zebras is a matter of debate. Behavior Little is known about the behavior of wild quaggas, as it is sometimes unclear what species of zebra is featured in contemporary reports. a definitive quagga account was provided by Major Sir William Cornwallis Harris in 1840: References Category:Animals Category:Mammals Category:Herbivores Category:Taxa described in 1785